Meet Chris Lonergan

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chris Lonergan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Chris, thrilled to have you on the platform as I think our readers can really benefit from your insights and experiences. In particular, we’d love to hear about how you think about burnout, avoiding or overcoming burnout, etc.

Following eight consecutive years of taking on more and more, I found myself in a dark place. My wife and I were running a business and we were storming. We offered more products than we had expertise for being produced by a staff largely comprised of generalists. Our company, Communication Partners specializes in employee benefits communication. Sales and top line revenue were growing annually yet each year, I felt less and less happy inside. I falsely believed that I was always one new hire or one more sleepless month away from regaining my life and happiness.

I made a leap of faith commitment to focus on five key business areas that I thoroughly enjoy, believe that I am good at, can focus on for hours without realizing time has gone by, and have an impact around me. With all other areas, I committed to eliminating, downgrading, delegating, or outsourcing them. The latter part was terrifying.

Contrary to my belief at the time, positive impacts were felt within three weeks. The sky didn’t fall, employees didn’t quit, and clients didn’t leave. There is more that we did to simplify our business and product mix. The more I focused on my key business areas, the higher our client net promoter scores went, the stronger our employee feedback scores grew, new sales and retention further lifted, and the burnout cloud that I was living in finally burnt off. My biggest new challenge became staying diligent and committed to my five key business areas.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

My wife and I are focused on partnering with large domestic employers to tailor effective benefits communications campaigns that really showcase their total rewards. Our work is hyper custom and largely covers web, video, and traditional print media. Our creative staff is comprised of talented designers, content writers, and project managers.

We think of our company as being boutique in nature. It gives me chills to think about the impact our small company has over millions of lives across this country. We play an important role in helping people better understand insurance and select the right plans for their specific needs and risks. As the year plays out, we ensure they have the information and tools to properly navigate our confusing and intimidating healthcare system. The employers are most happy when their employees fully understand all the wonderful programs, benefits, and perks available to them while being savvy and smart users of their insurance coverage. This becomes an important win-win and success we can accurately measure.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Saying no to good ideas and yes to great ones. No is the hardest word to use but can have the greatest impact.

Having a hospitality mindset. Focusing on how peers and clients want to feel. Putting yourself in their seat once in a while.

Hyper focus on process improvement while allowing creativity to grow.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

After many years of struggle through trial and error, compensating for things with sheer will and effort, I hit rock bottom and succumbed to burnout. I knew things had to change but I was out of ideas for where to begin. I’ve always been an avid reader but many of the business books seemed to further complicate rather than help until I came across a book called Built to Sell. The title had no interest but the story followed a dialogue between a young entrepreneur and a mentor. I was fascinated from the first page and immediately connected with the struggling entrepreneur. This book helped me realize that I was in need of a strong mentor.

Within a few weeks, I hired a business coach out of LA named Jonathan Goldhill. I credit Jonathan tremendously for helping me crawl out of my dark place. Jonathan did not overhaul our company or processes. He didn’t make substantial changes. He implemented subtle changes that had both immediate and large impacts. I felt that Jonathan understood me, where I had been, and the state I was in. The professional growth that I experienced with Jonathan was immeasurable.

He helped us simplify our business, product mix, hiring processes, sales channels, technology, outsourced services, and much more.

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